Halo: Tales of Honor Volume 1
by Hitotsune-Kozo
Summary: This is a collection of 7 stories I've written in the Halo universe. Each story will concern different main original characters, but all will tie in to the same overall plot: a Covenant assault on an unnamed human world. Each story will occur at a later period in that assault than the one before it - excluding the first one. Rated M for sci-fi action, violence, & language.
1. Chapter 1

**DISCLAIMER:** The Halo universe is owned by 343 Industries and Microsoft. I only make claim to the characters I create. The Spartan-IIs, Spartan-IIIs, UNSC marines, ODSTs, the Covenant, and the races of the Covenant – along with the weapons and vehicles of both sides – are not mine.

**A/N:** Tales of Honor is a collection of seven self-contained one-shots that tie in with one another but are independent of each other. It is intended to be similar to the Halo Legends animated anthology, but with all seven stories done by one author.

**A/N2:** Sorry for my long absence. I don't have internet at home anymore because I moved and currently don't have the money to get it right now. Looking for a job to correct that situation. Until then, I'm limited to rare trips to the library in town – which is 20 minutes from where I'm living now. I don't have any updates ready for MTYS or any other fics I currently have going, so I'm gonna put this up. Hope y'all like it.

**Halo****Tales of Honor** **Volume 1****I: Sacrifice**

They had all known that, eventually, the Covenant would discover their world and attack it. Ever since the attack on Harvest in 2525, humanity had been fighting a losing battle to protect itself. Their ships and weapons were outclassed by the advanced technologies of the alien enemy. Where the United Nations Space Command utilized guided missiles, bullets, and kinetic impact weapons, the Covenant had directed energy weapons. Where UNSC ships had titanium-A battle plate, the Covenant had energy shields and unknown alloys.

Where the Covenant had faith and religious fervor, humanity had dedication and courage.

It was a freighter that had just exited Slipspace that picked up the incoming Covenant ships. In a display of unfathomable courage, the captain of the ship sent an audio warning – complete with the sensory data his ship had captured – to the planet moments before a Covenant frigate fired a plasma torpedo that impacted on the ship's aft fuel stores and detonated them. The UNSC naval presence within the system consisted of a single upgraded _Halcyon_-class cruiser, two destroyers, and four frigates. Plus the squadrons of Longsword fighters carried by the cruiser and the frigates. Each of the seven ships also carried detachments of marines and Orbital Drop Shock Troopers, more commonly called ODSTs or 'Helljumpers.' On the planet below were four battalions of marines, with appropriate numbers of Scorpion tanks, Mongoose ATVs, and Warthog LRVs. They also had Hornet and Falcon VTOLs, along with Pelican drop ships. The planet lacked the orbital Magnetic Accelerator Cannons of the older Inner Colony worlds, but they did have several mass drivers that could be used once the Covenant breached the planet's atmosphere. The presence of the marines, the knowledge of the fleet in orbit, and vague rumors of Spartans helped to lessen the panic the freighter's last transmission had caused.

The planetary capital was the largest and most modern city on the planet. It was actually ringed with two layers of twelve-foot-high walls, with the spaceport abutting directly against the outer wall. The spaceport's main entrances were tunnels that ran to the wall at a descending angle before traveling a couple of kilometers to connect with an underground tram system. Located between the tunnels and the tram areas were two-meter-thick security doors that normally remained up to provide unrestricted access to the spaceport.

In the initial engagement between the UNSC fleet and the incoming Covenant forces – consisting of three frigates and two destroyers – the humans managed to destroy one frigate and damage a second along with one of the destroyers while losing two frigates, a destroyer, and moderate damage to the cruiser. The destroyed ships managed to launch their overloaded Pelican drop ships and ODST compliments before moving to engage the enemy; the rest of the fleet had done so as well, keeping enough marines onboard to provide defense against boarders. Though a joke among the rest fleet, the _Halcyon_-class cruiser _The Last Castle_ was pivotal to the planet's defense, providing a mobile command-and-control element.

During their run of the humans' blockade, the Covenant starships had launched drop ships and Scarab fighters while the undamaged destroyer made a pinpoint Slipspace jump and appeared between the human fleet and the planet. It didn't remain there long, descending into the planet's atmosphere to aid the incoming ground forces.

_Three days after Covenant arrival_

"Come on, people, keep it moving!" shouted Lieutenant Peter Yantrovich, urging the group of civilians on. The group of forty civilians, along with Peter's platoon, had been cut off from the main group when a tear drop-shaped Covenant drop ship had flown overhead and disgorged a contingent of Elites and Grunts between them. The rendezvous point was the spaceport's main terminal, so Lieutenant Yantrovich was leading his platoon – and the civilians – to the nearest tram depot. He wasn't sure if the trams would still have power to run, but he knew that the underground tram depots bordering the spaceport's security wall would have two-meter-thick titanium-A doors that could be dropped and sealed, preventing the Covenant troops from following. Everyone was on foot, since finding sufficient transport to carry forty civilians and a marine platoon would have been obvious to the Covenant Banshees that were overhead dueling with anti-air batteries and human VTOLs. _What I wouldn't give for a couple of Pelicans_, he thought, though it was for evacuating the civilians rather than for his own comfort.

"_Lieutenant,"_ he heard Corporal Jean Logan say over the comm.

"What is it, Corporal?" he asked; he'd tasked her and three other marines to reconnoiter the pursuing Covenant forces.

"_Sir, we've got more trouble. They must have linked up with some troops already on the ground, or another drop ship or two came by without us knowing, because the enemy force is _much_ larger than it was before."_

"Shit," he swore. "How much time do we have?"

"_Five minutes until their recon elements get within range of our DMRs."_

"Hell and damnation. That means their main body is probably only ten minutes away – at best."

"_Yes, sir."_

"Very well, Corporal. You and your element get back here on the double. Leave some motion sensors in your place to give us some warning."

"_Got it, sir."_

"And watch out for those active camo Elites."

"If_ we can see them coming. Corporal Logan, out."_

Tapping his comm, Peter pulled down the cloth covering his mouth and walked over to Terrance Grable, the impromptu 'leader' of the civilians. As he approached, he removed his helmet as well. Grable was talking with another civilian, urging caution about something.

"Excuse me, Mister Grable," he said. "I'm sorry to interrupt you right now, but I've got something I need to inform you about."

"That's quite alright, Lieutenant," Grable replied, turning to face him. "Young William here is rather impulsive – a tendency of youth – and is . . . _insisting_ upon comandeering some vehicles to reduce our travel time."

"Mister William," Peter said, looking at the boy – who couldn't be older than sixteen, "I understand your desire to get to the spaceport as fast as possible. I'm of the same mind. However, using those vehicles to do so would make more trouble right now than we can afford. If the Banshees overhead didn't make strafing attacks on us, the need to move and safeguard the vehicles we'd need to transport everyone would ensure that some would get cut off by the buildings and Covenant. I won't lose any more civilian lives."

"I . . . I understand, sir," the boy said, looking contrite. "I'm . . . I'm sorry."

"No need to apologize," the marine said with an easy smile. "Even I get scared sometimes."

"But . . . but you're a marine! You don't get scared!"

"Any marine who _doesn't_ get scared isn't alive any longer," he replied. "Fear keeps us alive, and _courage_ is moving past fear to do what is right." The boy nodded and went back to the group.

"Well done, Lieutenant Yantrovich," Grable said in approval.

"I've worked with recruits and marines fresh from boot, sir," he replied, "so it's nothing new to me. I worked my way up to being an officer, so I can be a real bastard, too."

"What was it you had to me?"

"We've got Covenant troops inbound. Scouts are less than five minutes away now. We can take them out, but the moment we do the main body will know where we're at."

"So we need to get a move on, then."

"I'm afraid so, Mister Grable."

"Elites!" someone shouted, right as people began screaming.

"Get everyone out of here, Mister Grable!" Yantrovich ordered, jamming his helmet back on. "Now!" Racking the lever back on his assault rifle, he charged in the direction of the shout. As he got closer, an Elite jumped into the air using a jetpack. _Shit!_ he thought. _Commando Elites!_ Raising his gun, he sighted along the barrel and let loose a ten-round burst. The hardened 7.62mm bullets sparkled against the alien warrior's personal energy shield, failing to penetrate it but succeeding in attracting its attention. It whirled in mid-air and Peter got a good look at its weapon before he dove for cover to avoid the blast; it was a needle rifle, the Covenant equivalent of the standard DMR (designated marksman rifle) used by the UNSC, that shot the same crystalline needles as the needler but in single-shot rapid fire rather than full automatic. Fortunately, they didn't seem to guide like needler rounds so he got to cover without a problem. _That can't be the only one_, he thought and sure enough, a beam of almost blinding energy impacted nearby. _Sniper_, he realized, springing over the abandoned car he'd sought cover behind and dashing around a corner. Slamming himself against the building's wall, he slung his assault rifle, drew his Magnum pistol, and took a deep breath. Bending down, he picked up a chunk of concrete and stood back up. Silently counting to five, he tossed the chunk high into the air around the corner, following it and aiming his pistol. Engaging the 2x scope, he saw the flash from where the Elite was perched as it fired its focus rifle at the place where the concrete hit. Pulling the trigger as fast as he could, he fired off the entire 8-round clip in four seconds. The 12.7mm rounds slammed into the alien's shields, though it was the last round that punched through and blew its hand off.

Then he was picked up off his feet and tossed through the air as an explosion erupted less than fifteen feet from him. Landing hard, he tumbled and rolled along the ground, bouncing off of small obstructions until he slammed into a car. A pained yelp escaped him as the impact dislocated his shoulder. A chunk of concrete clipped his helmet hard, making his vision swim. When it cleared, he found an Elite standing above him, aiming a plasma pistol at his face.

"Come on, you sonuvabitch," he growled, wishing he could reload his Magnum. The Elite seemed about to comply, even though he probably didn't understand the words, when _something_ yanked him backwards. Peter saw armored boots plant themselves on the alien's thighs, watched an armored hand wrench its head sideways, and stared as a combat knife buried itself in the side of the head. As the alien dropped to ground, Peter got a good look at his savior and gaped. It was a Spartan. The armored figure, easily two meters tall, slipped the knife back into its sheath on his shoulder, then extended a hand to the marine. Grasping it, Peter felt himself almost yanked off the ground.

"Thanks, Spartan," he said, ejecting the spent clip from his pistol and reloading it before holstering it. He unslung his assault rifle and checked its ammo count.

"Chief Petty Officer SPARTAN-077," the armored figure said. "Sorry I'm late, Lieutenant Yantrovich."

"Hell, it's no problem, Chief," he replied, moving into a jog to rejoin his men. "I didn't even know there were any Spartans on the ground."

"We came in with the last wave of friendlies, sir," the Spartan explained, moving alongside the marine. "Via drop pods. I would have been here sooner but a Banshee clipped my pod and knocked it off course."

"I'm glad you're here anyway," the marine officer said. "I lost track of things when that explosion occurred."

"It was from a concussion rifle. You're lucky it wasn't a plasma launcher or a fuel rod cannon, sir."

"Tell me about it. Can you tell me what the situation is?"

"The civilians evacuated with no casualties, thanks to your quick actions and those of your marines. Three commando Elites dropped in on you, and two are dead. Your troops nailed the one with the concussion rifle, and of course I took out the second one."

"There were two others, I think," Peter replied. "One had a focus rifle, though I blew off his hand before the blast, and a second had a needle rifle."

"That was the one who was about aerate your head, sir."

"Then thanks again, Spartan."

They managed to link up with Peter's platoon a few minutes later, everyone stunned to see the Spartan but getting over their shock. He got reports from his troops about the situation. Though caught off guard by the surprise assault, only five of the marines had been injured – and one had been killed. Peter walked over to the tarp-covered body and pulled it back.

"Jean," he said softly when he saw the corporal's face.

"Covenant bastard had dropped into a knot of civilians," his top kick, Staff Sergeant Javol Rend, said. "Logan charged right at him, screaming at the top of her lungs and firing her SMG to get his attention. It whipped out one of those energy swords they carry and slammed it right into her chest." The staff sergeant smiled sadly as his lieutenant looked at him. "She plunged a frag right into its roaring mouth. Dumbest stunt I've ever seen anyone pull. But a lot of civvies would be dead if it weren't for her."

"She's still got one more service to perform," Peter said, standing up.

"Sir?"

"Rig this place up with the last of our demo charges and as many frag grenades as we can spare," he ordered. "Then set her up where the Covenant will see her. Set things up so that when those alien bastards move her, it sets off the explosives."

"I understand, sir. She was a good kid."

When the task was done, Lieutenant Yantrovich ordered everyone to move out at double-time.

"We don't have any time left," he'd said, "so we're going to make a run for it. Nobody will be left behind."

A pair of marines led the way, with the rest of the platoon – and the Spartan – spread out around the civilians. Punching street names into his tactical pad, Peter found they weren't far from the entrance to the underground tram station. And then a glowing glob of plasma shot by his head. Whirling around and clamping down his rifle's trigger, he sprayed the twenty rounds left in the clip into a trio of Grunts that had come around a corner.

"Move it, people!" he shouted. "We're out of time!" He split off two more marines to help the two leading the civilians, then deployed the rest in covering fallback positions. They would fall back by fireteams, each team finding cover before the next ones moved back past them; kind of a reverse leapfrog. Utilizing cover and disciplined fire, the marines managed to hold back the Covenant troops as they slowly retreated towards the spaceport. Unfortunately, there was a large open area around the entrance to the tram station, which meant there was no cover. The four marines he'd sent with the civilians were crouched down the stairs of the entryway, their assault rifles and DMR chattering as they picked off the alien soldiers coming after their comrades. Then a mass of Grunts and Jackals, with a handful of Elites, burst out onto the plaza. Three retreating marines were cut down, though Peter yanked their dogtags as he ran by.

And then SPARTAN-077 charged into them. His grenade launcher remained slung across his back, but the two Magnum pistols speaking in his hands more than made up for it. Grunts and Jackals were dropping like flies as he fired and reloaded. He spun and dodged around plasma fire, jumped and flipped over sprays of explosive needles, firing his dual pistols the entire time. The shock of his assault, as well as his appearance, threw the pursuing Covenant into disarray. Even more so when he jammed a pistol into an Elite's mouth and not only blew the back of its head off but also the head of the Elite charging behind it. His pistols racked back on empty chambers and he dropped the guns, whipping out his grenade launcher. But the aliens were falling back, at least temporarily; the fury of the sudden assault had driven them back, and had given the surviving marines time to reach the tram station. SPARTAN-077 took his last pair of frag grenades and rigged up a trip while halfway down the steps. Then he joined the trailing marines – including Lieutenant Peter Yantrovich – as they followed after the civilians.

Right about the same time the Covenant forces tripped the grenades, the security door started descending. The first of the civilians wasn't near it, and only a handful of people would make it before it sealed.

That couldn't be allowed. Dropping his grenade launcher, SPARTAN-077 sprinted forward as fast as he could. _Just for once_, he thought as put everything he had into his run, _I wish I were Kelly._ Getting right under the door as four terror-fueled civilians ran under it, he set himself in a wide stance and braced his shoulders. With his arms set in a weight-lifter's stance, he took the impact of the barrier with an explosive grunt. The force behind the door sent him down to one knee and threatened to crush him beneath its weight, but he wouldn't allow it. As civilians and now marines continued to stream past, he held the door as it was for a moment before slowly, painfully forcing himself back to his feet. Those watching did so with awe and profound respect as, with a roar of defiance, the lone Spartan stood up to his full 2-meter height and fully extended his arms. Marines running by could see his arms visibly trembling as he strained to his limit and beyond to hold up the door. Then Covenant plasma fire began lancing down the large, four-tram corridor.

"By me!" the Spartan shouted. "Run by me as close as you can!" Not arguing, the remaining marines did so. The Covenant tried to follow the fleeing humans, but their fire only impacted against the Spartan's Mark IV MJOLNIR armor. He grunted with each impact, knowing that even his armor wouldn't last long. He watched as the last marine, Lieutenant Peter Yantrovich, ran past him.

"We're clear!" he shouted. "Get in!"

"Negative, sir," –077 replied. Letting the door come down a little with a grunt, so that it rested across his shoulders, he reached up with one hand and yanked out his own dogtags. Then he handed them to the lieutenant, who took them out of reflex because he was too shocked to think properly. Looking into that expressionless gold visor, he somehow sensed the Spartan was smiling.

"I'll hold the line," he said, before stepping back and letting the door slam down between him and the humans. Turning around, his armor battered, burned, and holed in a few spots, he pulled out a combat knife from each shoulder, flipped them so the blades extended from the bottom of his hands, and charged the Covenant troops.

On the other side of the barrier, everyone – marine and civilian – stared at the sealed door, humbled by the Spartan's selfless actions and sacrifice. Peter Yantrovich, commanding officer of Gamma Company's 114th Platoon, looked down at the dogtags in his hand. Stamped across one was a name. A name he vowed he would never forget:

BENJAMIN-077


	2. Chapter 2

**DISCLAIMER:** The Halo universe is owned by 343 Industries and Microsoft. I only make claim to the characters I create. The Spartan-IIs, Spartan-IIIs, UNSC marines, ODSTs, the Covenant, and the races of the Covenant – along with the weapons and vehicles of both sides – are not mine.

**A/N:** Tales of Honor is a collection of seven self-contained one-shots that tie in with one another but are independent of each other. It is intended to be similar to the Halo Legends animated anthology, but with all seven stories done by one author.

**Halo****Tales of Honor** **Volume 1****II: True Courage**

"Incoming!" someone shouted as the red-purple orb from a Covenant Revenant impacted near a squad of marines. The concussion from the blast knocked them backwards, and put a hole in the UNSC lines that a fast-moving file of Grunts and Jackals tried to take advantage of. They would have succeeded, and shattered the humans' battle lines then, if the red and gold form of SPARTAN-003 hadn't leapt into the breech, her DMR picking the aliens off with one bullet per target. She tossed a grenade over the Jackals as she ejected the nearly spent clip and slapped in a fresh one. Then the Jackals were cut apart as a stuttering line of high-velocity bullets from a Warthog scythed through them. Looking back, she saw the marine manning the gun give her a thumbs up and she returned it. Using her visor enhancement, she located the Revenant that had nearly breached the line and called in fire from two of the Gauss-hogs (Warthogs with a gauss cannon replacing the machine gun). Two salvos from each cracked whatever it used as a powerplant and the resulting explosion killed the two Elites operating it.

In one smooth motion, 003 slung her DMR onto the magnetic clamp on her armor's back at the same time she drew her sniper rifle with Oracle scope. Snapping it up and engaging full zoom, she targeted a gold armored Elite and put a round right through the officer's visor slit. His death caused some of the Covenant forces to pull back in order to consolidate, which forced the rest of the aliens to fall back as well so as not to break the cohesion of their own line.

"Nice shot, Spartan," said Captain Andre Pierce, leader of Bravo Company.

"Not a problem, sir," SPARTAN-II Ellie-003 replied. "I increased the powder charge on my rounds. It meant the bullet's length was much smaller, but it offers full penetration of shielded Elites."

"Impressive."

"If you say so, sir," she replied. She pulled out the rifle's sling and slipped it onto her shoulder. Facing the captain, she came to attention, saluted, and said, "Lieutenant Ellie-ee-zero-zero-three."

"At ease, Lieutenant," Captain Pierce said, returning her salute briefly. "Much obliged for your timely arrival."

"Glad I was able to make it, sir, though I wish I had gotten here sooner. What's the situation?"

"It isn't good," he told her, motioning for her to follow him back towards the company's temporary field headquarters. "We've got what appears to be a full Covenant battalion bearing down on us, complete with heavy support. That mortar vehicle of theirs-"

"Intel is calling it a 'Revenant,' sir."

"-was the closest support element they had to throw at us. One of my scouts says that they have a couple of Wraiths moving in with the main body."

"I wouldn't count on reinforcements anytime soon, sir," she said. "Our ships are barely holding the Covies at bay. The battalion your company is attached to is the largest formation on-planet; even with the companies of marines and Helljumpers dropped by the fleet, we're badly outnumbered." She stopped and turned to face him squarely. When she spoke, her voice was low. "You didn't hear this from me, but _The Last Castle_ had a team of six Spartans on-board along with its ODST complement. Also, a UNSC prowler – _Long Island_ – came in-system long enough to drop two additional teams of Spartans. I'm off the _Long Island_."

"Why hasn't HQ told us about Spartan reinforcement?" Pierce asked.

"My guess? They're worried about the Covenant intercepting our transmissions. That's why orders have been going out on secure, scrambled burst transmissions. The marines and Helljumpers from the fleet aren't enough to reinforce every front we're currently fighting the Covenant on."

"All I've got are eight 'Hogs – two of 'em mounting gauss cannons – four Falcons, none of which mount grenade launchers, and ten Mongooses. Other than the Gauss Hogs, my only anti-armor defense are the Jackhammer launchers in each of my squads. My other six 'Hogs are good for air and infantry defense, but I need reinforcement or cover fire immediately."

"I understand, sir. Forward Base Titan has dispatched a couple of Scorpion tanks to provide assistance, but the Covenant will make it here before they do."

"Two Scorpions wouldn't be enough, anyway," he replied, shaking his head. He looked over at her. "Are we to be sacrificed, then? Used to slow down the Covenant until a better defensive line can be developed?"

"Not if I can help it, Captain," Ellie responded. "Combat engineers _are_ preparing a fortified defensive position two klicks back, but we're to start falling back to it. The Covenant vanguard will no doubt be regrouping right now, and will probably launch an immediate offensive against us. Right now, I suggest we deploy Lotus mines and whatever else we can come up with just ahead of our current line of battle. Then mount up as much of the battalion as possible and fall back."

"Good ideas," Pierce agreed. "I'll have the Mongooses go first, since they're the fastest. They can drop off their 'passengers' and regroup with the rest of us to pick up more troopers."

"I'd put troopers with Jackhammers in the Gauss Hogs and three of the other Warthogs to give the rearguard ranged fire against any Banshees or Wraiths deployed."

"Let's hope we can get everything done in time."

They did manage to get the Lotus mines and IEDs – improvised explosive devices – planted and armed before the Covenant vanguard renewed their attack. The retreat was another matter. Ellie, with Captain Pierce's permission, took a select squad of marines and led them on a swift flanking march. Each one was armed with either a DMR – designated marksman rifle – or a sniper rifle; in Ellie's case, it was both. Finding a good spot, she dispersed the squad into well-hidden positions, with two of them serving to hold open their E&E – escape and evasion – route. She limits them all to one clip – although those using DMRs were limited to eight shots, since the marksman weapon could fire and reload faster than the heavier and larger sniper rifle.

"Marksmen, concentrate on the Grunts and Jackals. Remember to shoot around the energy shields – or at any exposed limbs. Snipers, focus on the Elites. Our heavier rounds pack more of a punch," Ellie told them, "so they'll be able to break through – or at least break – their personal energy shielding. And don't forget, all of you, one clip for snipers and eight rounds for marksmen, then we fall back. Understood?"

"Sir, yes, sir!" the eight marines chorused. Meanwhile, Captain Pierce was haranguing the rest of his company, using one platoon to provide a dedicated rearguard action while another began evacing the area. Of the remaining two, one was swapping positions with the rearguard company during reloading while the second was attempting to pack up as many supplies as possible onto the Mongooses, Falcons, and Warthogs. The two gauss-equipped 'Hogs were parked halfway between the defensive line and the evac area, with the two 'micro-MACs' being used as heavy marksmen weapons. Andre Pierce heard a squeal in his earpiece and reached up to adjust.

"_-is HQ. Repeat, Captain Andre Pierce, commanding officer of Bravo company, respond. This is HQ."_

"HQ, this is Captain Pierce," he replied.

"_We have received your request for reinforcement. Report your situation."_

"My _request_ as made nearly an hour ago," he growled. "I'm about to be overrun by Covenant forces. I'm currently evac'ing my company. Lieutenant SPARTAN-Zero-Zero-Three linked up us and managed to buy us time to prepare to fallback."

"_Falling back is inadvisable at this time, Captain Pierce. You are ordered to hold your position and delay Covenant forces. Reinforcements are on the way."_

"Fuck that!" he shouted, not caring that he was being insubordinate and would likely be court-martialed if he managed to survive. "My men will die if we stay here! The Covenant are pressing us too hard, and their bringing up Wraiths!"

"_You have your orders, Captain. Failure to carry them out will result in a court-martial and a dishonorable discharge."_

"Take your court-martial and shove it where the sun doesn't shine, HQ. This plan was devised by SPARTAN-Zero-Zero-Three and endorsed by me. As I recall, the Spartans are part NavSpecWep." For a long moment, there was silence on the comm channel. Then:

"_Understood, Captain. Diverting additional air support to secondary defensive line. Pelicans inbound to secondary position as well. Ordering Scorpion tanks to take up covering positions."_

"Understood. Captain Pierce, out," he said, then shut off his comm. And just then, Ellie and her squad jogged up. Andre was impressed that she had returned with all eight members of the squad.

"Captain, we've managed to sow some confusion within the enemy ranks, but it won't be enough to halt their advance. And there's more."

"I don't know if I want to hear this, but go ahead."

"The good news is that the Wraiths were spotted at extreme distance by sniper scope on maximum magnification. So they're still out of range of us."

"And the bad news?"

"Three Revenants are inbound to the Covenant's advance forces. ETA is approximately five minutes; they're boosting."

"Damn!" he swore. "That's not enough time to evacuate the whole company." Sighing, although it sounded more like a growl, he went on. "Alright, here's what we'll do. Unload the supplies from the Falcons and Warthogs, and load up as many troopers as possible. We'll set any demolition charges and IEDs we have left on them as an additional defensive measure to slow the Covenant down."

"Understood, sir," Ellie said. She looked to 'her' squad and with hand motions dispersed them to begin the operation. Looking back at the captain, she said, "Sir, five minutes won't be enough time to accomplish that. We'll have just begun loading up the company when those Revenants hit our line."

"I know we don't have much time," he agreed, "but standing here waiting for them will be suicide."

"Agreed," she replied. "We'll have to set up a rearguard. I'd suggest a single platoon, but no less than two squads. We can buy everyone else time to get away."

"'We?'" he echoed.

"Yes. I won't let good men and women stay behind to hold off the Covenant without being by their side."

"If only command shared your sentiment," he sighed. "Alright, Lieutenant. I'll leave you Delta Platoon and the Warthogs. Baker will load up on the Falcons, with most of Charlie mounting the Mongooses."

"We'll get you the time you need, sir."

"Just make sure as many of you survive as possible."

Five minutes _did_ turn out to be too little time. Baker Platoon had just started boarding the Falcons while Charlie was getting on the Mongoose ATVs when the Covenant forces came into range – including the Revenant light mortar vehicles. Jackhammer missiles lanced out, trying to disable or destroy the Covenant vehicles, but their crews were more savvy than that of the previous Revenant. They stayed mobile while firing their plasma mortars; while that greatly affected their accuracy, it kept them from being easily targeted. Captain Pierce ordered the last one and a half squads of Charlie Platoon to take four of the Warthogs to evacuate the area. He ordered Able to assist Delta in buying time. The ten Mongooses and four Warthogs roared off as fast as they could move, with the Falcons lifting off. Each of the four VTOLs was overloaded in order to carry all of Baker platoon out. The Covenant vanguard had some serious firepower now, though, for three glowing green orbs lanced from their lines and impacted against one of the Falcons' starboard rotor mounts. The three fuel rod cannon rounds were too much for what little armor the engine module carried and blew it off. The aircraft immediately went into an out-of-control spin – right towards Able and Delta platoons.

"Marines, scatter!" Pierce shouted, and the two platoons tried to scramble out of the Falcon's path. A couple of marines tripped, and would have died for certain if Ellie hadn't dashed in at an inhuman speed. Snatching a cylinder off of her armor, she primed the shield grenade and smashed into the ground, throwing up a 'bubble' of energy as the Falcon crashed nearby. Flames and shrapnel washed over the bubble shield – as well as the marines still within the blast radius. Screams and cries erupted, many of them silenced as their source died.

Andre picked himself up off the ground, groaning as he did. His armor and fatigues were ripped and torn in many places, and he could feel blood slowly snaking its way down his skin from the lacerations he'd received from the flying shrapnel. Blood had caked on his face, having come from a gash across his forehead and temple from a shard of metal his helmet hadn't completely deflected. Staggering to his feet, his hearing partial deadened by the explosion, he began shouting orders, trying to reform the remnants of Able and Delta platoons into a battle line.

Then he saw how close the Covenant troops were.

Yelling for the marines to fall back by the numbers, he looked back in time to see one of the two Gauss Hogs take a direct hit from a Revenant's mortar bomb. Two more marines dead; two more lives lost to the Covenant. Then a blur of red and gold flashed across his vision. Snapping his gaze back towards the shattered defensive line, he saw SPARTAN-003 charging the Covenant forces. Gone were her sniper rifle and DMR; instead, she had a rocket launcher strapped to her back and a grenade launcher in her hands. The speed with she fired, reloaded, and fired again made the grenade launcher seem like it was a semi-automatic weapon. It seemed to Andre that the Covenant troops were shifting their focus solely to the lieutenant. When she fired off her last grenade, Ellie dropped the launcher and grabbed the Jackhammer in a single motion. She fired off the missile in the first tube at a Revenant and had fired off the second one before the first one had impacted. Both rockets slammed, not into the vehicles themselves, but into their _crews_. One of the Revenants went up in an explosion of purple and red plasma as the rocket punched through the Elite driver's shields and armor to penetrate the plasma generator. She had just reloaded and taken aim at the last mortar vehicle when the round it had fired a second earlier impacted on the ground near her. The next thing she knew she was slamming into the ground with blood splatters on the inside of her helmet's visor. Staring up at the sky, she tried to will herself back to her feet but couldn't seem to move. Unconsciousness claimed her before she could puzzle it out.

Captain Pierce had seen the whole thing, had watched as the red and purple mortar bomblet had impacted less than a meter from the Spartan. He didn't know he'd moved until he became aware of his troops shouting at him. Instinct had his assault rifle up and firing, the 7.62mm rounds hammering into the Grunts and Jackals attempting to reach the fallen soldier. Those same rounds only made a red-armored Elite's shields spark and shimmer as it landed in a crouch near the unconscious Ellie. Throwing aside his empty and useless rifle, he drew his sidearm and body-checked the Elite. Being larger and more massive than him, the alien wasn't slammed into the ground by the move. But considering that Andre had had some momentum built up, it was still forced back. Knocking him down, it took aim with the plasma rifle it carried. Without thinking, the marine captain lashed out with his foot at the Elite's crotch. Though he didn't expect the move to work on the alien in the same way it would work on another human, it still seemed to stun the alien for just a moment.

And that was just long enough.

Pitching himself forward, Andre avoided the stuttering burst of plasma fire that would have blown his head apart. Springing to his feet, he slammed the butt of his pistol into the Elite's head. To both of their surprise, the force of the blow shorted out the alien's shields. Before it could begin recharging, or the Covenant could react, the marine captain jammed the barrel of his Magnum underneath the alien's lower mandibles and said, "You are one ugly mother-fucker," before pulling the trigger. The 12.7mm round blasted out the back of the Elite's skull with its momentum only slightly slowed. Grabbing a frag grenade off of his combat harness, he primed and tossed it as hard as he could. It went off, and the screeches and howls from Jackals and Grunts told him he'd injured more than a few. Holstering his pistol, he knelt down and tried to pick up Ellie. He was surprised at how heavy she turned out to be; it took all of his strength just to get an arm over his shoulders and come to a crouching position. He wondered if he'd be able to drag her back at all when he felt some of the weight taken off. Glancing over, he saw that the Spartan had regained consciousness – or was at least semi-conscious.

"What are you doing, Captain?" she asked, her slurred voice telling him that she was only partially conscious and was probably suffering a concussion.

"Hauling your ass out of here, soldier," he grunted in reply, rising to his feet with her help. "I don't leave anyone behind."

Plasma bursts began falling all around them as the Covenant soldiers began firing on them. The answering _crack_ of rifles told him the remainder of Able and Delta platoons were attempting to provide them with covering fire. The two of them began making their way, staggering, back towards their lines. It got easier as they went, as Ellie began shaking off the effects of the near-miss and began consciously ignoring the pain of her injuries.

A nearby explosion almost tossed them off their feet. Staggering, they managed to regain their respective balances a shot from a plasma pistol hit Captain Pierce. It didn't hit his arm straight on, but it was more than a graze. The high heat of the green-yellow plasma orb partially cauterized the wound, but blood still began drenching his fatigues. Then another burst shot past his head, blistering the skin along one side of his face.

"Pierce, just go," Ellie told him, trying to shrug out of his grip. "You're only going to get yourself killed."

"Then I'll die," he groaned in reply, the pain more than evident in his voice, "because I'm not leaving you behind, Lieutenant." Then the Covenant zeroed in on them and the plasma rounds fell like rain. A squad of marines from either Able or Delta – or both – charged forward, grenades and bullets flying into the midst of the charging Covenant troops. Someone threw a shield grenade near them, and they staggered into the bubble, but it wasn't in time for the captain. The blue-white rounds from a plasma rifle had stitched their way across his back, from his waist to halfway up his back, punching through the ballistic armor he wore. Collapsing to the ground after crossing into the shield, Ellie managed to help ease the captain down as the squad of marines fell back into it as well. She laid him face-down, and a marine the patch of a corpsman knelt down next to him. Opening his back, he quickly pulled out several bandages and rolls of medical tape as another marine pulled a can of bio-foam off of his combat harness and injected his captain with it.

"We have to move fast," the combat medic said. "The Covenant aren't holding back."

"Just get him stable enough," Ellie replied, injecting herself with bio-foam. "I'll carry him."

The rest of the two platoons – what was left of them, anyway – had unleashed a blistering wave of fire at the encroaching Covenant to cover the retreat of Ellie, Captain Pierce, and the squad that had come to their aid. When they had gotten past the shattered defensive positions, the rest of the soldiers began falling back – slowly. Gently setting Pierce down, Ellie had climbed onto the back of a chain-gun equipped Warthog and ripped the chain-gun off. After ripping the base out of the back, she laid a piece of scrap metal down and then got down and put the captain up there as two other marines climbed into the front. Some more marines climbed into the back with Ellie and Pierce, and the Warthog roared off, with the last chain-gun Warthog and the two Gauss Hogs following behind to provide cover fire – all three overloaded with marines.

Once they'd passed through the maximum range of the Scorpion tanks' main guns, the two massive armored vehicles began firing shells as fast as the heavy guns could reload. The pursuing Covenant forces ran smack-dab into the barrage of high explosive fire and became stalled. Then a squadron of Falcon VTOLs (Vertical Take-Off/Landing) swooped in, chain guns, cannons, and grenade launchers letting loose into the packed-in aliens. The Warthog carrying Captain Pierce made straight for the medical tent, where a team was already waiting with a stretcher. The doctor that was also waiting quickly examined him, then directed the orderlies to immediately take him to the sterile operating area and prep him for surgery. As the marines and Ellie started to walk off, the doctor reached out and laid a hand on her arm. Being a Spartan, there was no way he could have stopped her by force short of shooting her. But she stopped anyway and turned, sensing that the man had some questions.

"The source of his injuries is rather obvious," the doctor said in a dry voice, "but how did he get injured that way?"

"I was buying time for Bravo Company to fall back here," she told him, unable to keep a trace of her own injuries out of her voice. "Nearly got hit by a plasma mortar shot; Captain Pierce came to pull me out of the way."

"You need to be checked out as well, Lieutenant," he replied in a no-nonsense voice. "Spartan or no Spartan. Am I clear?"

"Yes, sir," she said, grinning behind her faceless visor. "Take care of him first, though." With that, she walked off. Speaking aloud, so the doctor would hear her (though she wasn't 'intentionally' talking to him), she added, "With courage like that, Andre would've made one helluva Spartan."


	3. Chapter 3

**DISCLAIMER:** The Halo universe is owned by 343 Industries and Microsoft. I only make claim to the characters I create. The Spartan-IIs, Spartan-IIIs, UNSC marines, ODSTs, the Covenant, and the races of the Covenant – along with the weapons and vehicles of both sides – are not mine.

**A/N:** Tales of Honor is a collection of seven self-contained one-shots that tie in with one another but are independent of each other. It is intended to be similar to the Halo Legends animated anthology, but with all seven stories done by one author.

**Halo****Tales of Honor** **Volume 1**

**III: Final Run**

Major Xavier Lorenhall watched as the six Spartan-IIIs of Shadow Team filed into the briefing room. As the last one walked in, he keyed the door shut and activated all of the security and counter-insurgency devices installed in the room – but using lock-out protocols and codes available only to the Office of Naval Intelligence. The seats in the briefing room weren't made for Spartan use, so the six of them just stood near the podium at the front of the room. In one motion, they all reached up and removed their helmets. Nodding, Lorenhall pressed a button on the podium's control panel on the wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling screen behind him lit up.

"Alright, Shadow Team," he began. "This is the only briefing you will receive for this mission. The situation is, as expected, pretty grim. The Covenant have taken half the planet in spite of our best efforts and the additional – though small – reinforcements that have arrived. At their current rate of advance, it's estimated that the Covenant will gain control of the planet in two weeks."

"What's the fleet doing about this, sir?" asked Daniel-341, Shadow Team's leader.

"All they can," Lorenhall answered. "They're spread out over a number of fronts, if you'll recall from your previous missions. Right now the heaviest asset in-theater is the _Halcyon_-class cruiser _The Last Castle_."

"That doesn't amount to much," interjected Griffin-221.

"Agreed. Now that the background information is out of the way, here's your mission. Before it was shot down, the corvette _Midway_ transmitted its sensor logs. An analysis of that data by the military indicated something of strategic importance, so ONI classified the data and took it to analyze ourselves. We have learned that a Covenant destroyer, what appears to be their flagship, has managed to penetrate the marginally effective blockade and has taken station well within Covenant-controlled territory. It may not be completely essential to their efforts here, but it _is_ where they're coordinating from."

"You want us to take it out?" Christian-007 asked.

"That is your mission, Shadow Team," the ONI officer confirmed. "You are to take a specially-configured Falcon behind the lines and deliver a tactical nuclear device into the Covenant flagship. Anywhere within the vessel is good, though somewhere closer to its power core would be ideal." He looked each of the Spartans in the eye. "Unfortunately, due to the operation's extremely high risk, we cannot provide you with an extraction option. You'll either have to find your own method, or this will be a one-way trip for you."

"That's how our missions usually are, sir," Kiki-439 responded with a reckless smirk.

"Our job isn't to survive," Zabon-095 agreed. "It's to make sure Hell is filled up before we get there."

"Besides," added Hito-501, "we don't see death as the end. Death just allows us to redeploy to a new battlefield."

"You six are either fatalistic or extremely realistic," Lorenhall replied, shaking his head. "As it stands, that's your mission. Deliver a tactical nuclear device to the Covenant flagship and detonate it. Outfit yourselves at the base's armory. You depart as soon as you're ready."

In the armory, the six members of Shadow Team checked over their gear and selected weapons and ammo loads. On a table in the middle of the locked room was what the team referred to as the 'Touch'N'Die' – the tactical nuclear device. Officially the device was called a Type-IV Hailstorm Reconfigurable Tactical Nuclear Device. It was as long as a person's arm from fingertips to elbow, and as big around melon. The 'reconfigurable' part of its name came from the fact that it could be readily adapted for mounting on an Archer missile, an artillery shell, or – as it was now – man-portable. It also had a 'yield selector' allowing its explosive and radioactive yield to be configured for a specific task. The team had it set for maximum yield in order to ensure the Covenant flagship's destruction.

"You know this could be it," Kiki said into the silence, checking over the sniper rifle she had selected for the mission.

"Our final run, you mean?" Hito asked, to which she nodded.

"If it is then it is," Daniel answered. "Our mission is to take out that flagship. Our survival is, as always, secondary to the completion of the mission."

"Once we get moving we can't afford to stop," Griffin said, snapping shut the breech to one of the SMGs (submachine guns) he'd be carrying. "Every second that goes by means more marines and civilians die."

The modified Falcon raced into Covenant territory just below treetop level. It lacked the open compartment and weapon mounts of more 'conventional' Falcons; its five-person troop compartment was sealed. Its airframe had also undergone major modifications, so that it was only vaguely similar to the standard UNSC (United Nations Space Command) VTOL. It was angular and edged, resulting in a stealthy shape; to further aid its special operations role, the airframe was covered in radar absorbent metal as well as two coats of radar absorbent paint. Its engine nacelles were also reconfigured with low-observable stealth technology. The modifications were extensive and expensive, especially for a craft that was to serve just one purpose.

"Alright, people, listen up," Daniel said. As Christian was piloting the stealthed Falcon, that left Daniel, Zabon, Kiki, Griffin, and Hito in the troop bay. Being Spartans, they had their own dedicated comm channel. Being the 'enigmatic' Shadow Team, their personal channel was secure from everyone – with the possible exception of ONI itself. "I don't need to recap our mission, or what's riding on our success. You all know what's at stake. The UNSC High Command considers this mission impossible even for the Helljumpers. There are other Spartan assets in-theater, but none were available for this op. We were selected for this mission because in all of our missions, Shadow Team has had a one hundred percent success rate. We have never failed."

"And we never will," the other five said in unison.

"Shadow Team, this is Shadow Three," Christian said. "We're officially in Covenant territory, boys and girl. Time to lock and load."

The compartment was filled with the sounds of weapon slides being racked; Daniel was carrying an assault rifle with a grenade launcher on his back, Griffin had his pair of SMGs on his armor's thigh slots while he toted a DMR, Kiki cradled her sniper rifle in her arms while a magnum occupied each of her armor's thigh slots, Zabon had a shotgun on his back and an assault rifle in his arms, and Hito held a DMR with an assault rifle on his back. Up in the cockpit, Christian couldn't take the time away from flying to check on his own weapons, a shotgun and a Spartan Laser. The massive weapon had been hard to fit into the tight confines of the modified Falcon's cockpit, but even Shadow-1 – Daniel – had agreed that 4-shot laser weapon would be useful for breaching any hardpoints the team encountered.

Just then, the air alert warning went off. The passive radar had picked up an air contact. _A pair of them_, Christian realized. "Heads up, Shadow Team," he said. "We've got incoming Banshees. Strap in and hold on." Then he did something that not even the most daring ODST pilot would have tried: he dropped down to just a few feet above the ground _while still moving at full speed_. His attention was entirely focused on the task of flying something as big as a Falcon through the somewhat dense forest he was currently in. He had no idea if the Falcon's stealth features and electronic warfare equipment would work on Covenant sensors, so he relied more upon the customized aircraft's enhanced speed. Its computer fed data from the aircraft's HUD (Heads-Up Display) to his air assault variant helmet's HUD. According to the sensory data, the Covenant aircraft hadn't noticed him because their altitude and speed didn't vary.

Lifting to a less gut-wrenching altitude – just above the treetops – Christian adjusted the Falcon's heading as it passed over one of the programmed waypoints. Back in the troop bay, the rest of Shadow Team knew that the danger had passed when they felt the aircraft rise up. Then Shadow-3's voice came over their comms: "Just passed Waypoint Bravo. ETA to Covenant flagship is three hours at current speed and heading."

"Is there any way we can get there faster, Shadow Three?" Daniel, Shadow-1, asked.

"I could push the engines way past the redline and increase our speed considerably, but it would inversely affect our travel time. We're already at maximum speed. There was only so much even ONI's wonder boys could do to boost this thing's speed."

"Understood, Shadow Three. Let's keep that option open, but hold off for now," Shadow-1 said.

"We've gotten lucky so far," Shadow-5, Zabon, said. "We managed to penetrate Covenant lines undetected, and we dodged a pair of patrolling Banshees. Sooner or later a ground patrol or another flight of Banshees is gonna find us. The ground patrol is more worrisome, since they can call in a sighting and put any defenses on alert. When that happens, _no_ amount of stealthing and jamming is gonna save us."

"Always a ray of sunshine, aren't you, Shadow Five?" Hito, Shadow-6, asked dryly.

"When we get spotted," Griffin, Shadow-2, replied, "I imagine we'll do everything we can to evade any ground fire as long as possible, then Shadow Three will boost the engines to get us out of the way as fast as possible. After that, we'll do what Spartans in hostile territory do best: improvise."

"Shadow Two is right," Shadow-1 agreed. "Getting found out is only a matter of time. As is being forced to ground and find alternate transport. It doesn't matter, though; we only have one objective, and that's to get the bomb on board that ship."

As everyone had expected, it wasn't too long before a Covenant patrol sighted them. They didn't know it, and wouldn't until they ran into heavier defenses, but a pair of Elites in a Revenant had a split-second to observe the dark gray angular Falcon zoom by them. Though they gave immediate chase, the modified human aircraft was too fast for them and they began rapidly losing ground. Activating their mortar vehicle's communications panel, they informed the closest base.

"Heads up, Shadow Team," Shadow-3, Christian, called out. "We've got a welcoming committee. I'm picking up a trio of anti-air Shade turrets and a Wraith, so there's probably plenty of infantry in support."

"Do we need to boost it?" Shadow-1 asked.

"Don't think so, sir. I can move around it easily enough, but things are gonna get hairier from here on in."

"How far are we from the flagship?"

"Far enough."

"Shadow Team, prep for rapid deployment in a hot LZ," Shadow-1 ordered. "The moment we hit the ground, we move out fast and tight. Shadow Two, you're carrying the bomb."

"Roger that, One."

"Our task will be to get Shadow Two to the flagship," Daniel went on. "If he falls, someone grab the bomb. That may sound callous, but-"

"-our first priority is the destruction of that ship," Griffin agreed.

"Scarab!" Shadow-3 called out. "Confirm one Scarab and an anti-air gun!"

"Shadow Three, you have deployment control," Shadow-1 calmly replied. "What's the situation?"

"I have one Scarab and one AA gun," Three replied. "I count four Ghosts, a Revenant, two Wraiths, and a number of infantry ahead. Mostly Grunts and some Jackals. A few Elites, but no Hunters or Skirmishers."

"Brutes?" Shadow-4, Kiki, asked.

"Not that I can see, but with the monkeys who can tell?"

"Alright, Three, get ready to-"

"Hold on to something! AA gun is firing!" Three shouted. They all felt the change in attitude as Christian sharply banked the Falcon. Then they were all slammed about as an explosion shook the airframe. "Bad news, Shadow. We've suffered heavy damage to the port engine, and we aren't staying airborne much longer." There was a series of small explosions and jolts, then the 'shielding panels' around the troop compartment fell away.

"Time to go, Shadow Team," One said as they all hit the quick-release buttons on their restraint harnesses. Without hesitation, they all stood and moved to both sides of the compartment. At the speed and altitude they were traveling, even ODSTs would be leery of jumping. Not Shadow Team; they jumped immediately, holding their weapons tightly and locking their armor. In the Falcon's cockpit, meanwhile, Shadow-3 has struggling to keep the ONI-modified Falcon in the air. He hit the canopy release lever, but nothing happened. Running a computer-aided diagnostic, he discovered that shrapnel from the crippled engine had penetrated the emergency jettison mechanism, as well as the regular hydraulics.

He was trapped inside the doomed aircraft.

A grin found its way onto his face. _So that's how it's going to be_, he thought. "Kill some Covies for me, guys," he said over the comm. "I'll lead the way." Then he cut off the comm and took off his helmet – before overboosting the engines. The way the near-hit from the AA gun had nudged him had lined the platform and the Scarab up nicely.

On the ground, the rest of Shadow Team picked themselves up off the ground in time to watch Shadow-3 angle the Falcon just so.

"Give 'em hell, Spartan," Shadow-1 said. They all watched as the aircraft seemed to leap forward and slam into the Covenant mobile platform. The force of the impact and the subsequent explosion not only from the Falcon but from the Scarab's plasma generator knocked it hard into the anti-aircraft battery it had the misfortune of being next to. While the gun's own plasma core was undamaged, the gun itself was badly damaged. Closing his eyes briefly, Daniel then looked around at the rest of the team.

"Move out, Shadow Team," he said. "Full speed. We've got a flagship to take down."

Sprinting at a sustainable speed, the five remaining members of Shadow Team charged the Covenant troops around the destroyed Scarab and disabled AA gun. Shadow-4 raised up her sniper rifle and began firing, calmly and accurately. The two Elites in the Revenant fell out of it with .50-cal. rounds in their skulls. Shadow-6 raised his DMR and began headshotting the Grunts while Shadow-2 used his DMR on the Jackals. As the Ghosts zoomed towards them, Shadow-1 swapped his assault rifle for the grenade launcher and began pumping out rounds as the Wraith fired off its massive plasma mortar.

"Incoming!" Shadow-5 shouted. "Huddle!" As the other four Shadows gathered around him, he popped a shield grenade, also known as a drop shield. The shield bubbled up around them as the blue-white plasma orb impacted against it. As soon as the blast had dissipated, all of five them charged out of the shield bubble, surprising the remaining Covenant forces. A snap-shot from Kiki took out the Grunt manning the Wraith's defensive plasma turret, while Griffin and Hito used their DMRs to take out the Grunts driving the Ghosts. Zabon sprinted forward as fast as he could move, leaping up into the air as the Covenant mortar tank activated its jets in an attempt to ram him. Landing on its hull, he raised a fist and slammed it down into a barely discernible seam that separated the driver's 'hatch' from the hull around it. Punching through it, he grabbed the lip of the hole he'd made as the Elite driving the tank spun around in a failed attempt to throw him off. Then he primed and dropped a frag grenade into the hole as he let go, using the spinning tank's momentum to fling himself clear. The tank stopped, and Zabon grinned as he imagined the Elite having an 'Oh, shit' moment. Then the grenade detonated and blew the Wraith's plasma reactor.

With all of the Covenant forces in the immediate area eliminated, the five remaining members of Shadow Team sprinted for the vehicles. Hito and Griffin nabbed the Revenant, while Daniel, Zabon, and Kiki grabbed three of the Ghosts. Hito, driving the Revenant, backed up a ways and dropped a reddish-purple plasma bomb on the last Ghost's reactor compartment, exploding it and destroying the Ghost. Revving up, the Revenant moved out at its maximum speed, with the escorting Ghosts ranging ahead and to either side of the slower-moving mortar vehicle.

They all knew that the Covenant wasn't dumb enough to think all of the humans had died in the crash, or that any of them had died at all. So they weren't surprised when they ran into a fortified position consisting of two Shade turrets, a Shade turret mounting a fuel-rod cannon rather than a plasma gun, and a host of infantry with vehicle support. Shadow Team slowed to a stop.

"Well, this isn't going to be easy to get past," Griffin said.

"Gotta be getting closer to the flagship," Kiki noted.

"That may be true, but it's taking too long," Zabon added. "The more we're slowed down the more time the Covenant have to prepare for us. At this rate, we'll be facing a battalion or more of infantry backed up by who knows how many vehicles and turrets."

"Look," Daniel said, pointing. "Back behind the Wraiths."

"Banshees," Hito observed. "Some of us can make better time on those."

"'Some of us?'" echoed Griffin. "What do you mean by that, Hito?"

"I know," Zabon said, dismounting his Ghost. "Griffin, get on the Ghost. Hito and I will use the Revenant to buy you three time to skirt around that position and snag three of those Banshees."

"That's a one-way trip for you two," Daniel told them.

"We all have to make it sooner or later," Hito replied. "Just make it count."

"You can count on that," Kiki said, her voice cracking a little. The two of them nodded in response, and the Revenant accelerated out ahead of the Ghosts. Shadow-1, -2, and -4 watched as Shadow-5 and -6 hit the vehicles boost and shot towards the Covenant line. Zabon crouched in the 'passenger' seat and braced his assault rifle on the vehicle's forward cowling, only letting up on the trigger to change clips. Dropping out of boost, Hito began firing the vehicle's plasma mortar as fast as its capacitors could recharge. Almost as soon as they entered range they came under fire, with the Wraith tanks leading the way. The fuel rod cannon turret and the Shades opened fire as well, with a pair of Revenants boosting forward to bring their shorter-ranged mortars into play. Ghosts, Grunts, Jackals, and even some Hunters charged them as well, plasma rounds, needle shards, and fuel rod bursts arcing towards them. Timing it just right, Hito and Zabon leaped out of their Revenant right as the former hit the boost and forcibly jammed it. The red mortar vehicle leapt forward, the plasma and needle rounds pinging off of its forward glacis while the fuel rod bursts just missed it. It slammed into the fuel rod turret with enough force to send its plasma reactor out through its front. The subsequent explosion detonated the fuel rod turret's own power supply, which killed several of the Covenant forces.

Roaring in rage, two pairs of Hunters charged the two Spartan-IIIs.

"You remember reading about Custer's Last Stand?" Hito asked.

"Yeah," Zabon replied.

"Do you think he felt like this?"

"I dunno. Maybe we'll get a chance to ask him."

Looking at each other, they nodded and lifted their assault rifles up in unison.

Meanwhile, the last three members of Shadow Team had successfully made their flanking run and abandoned the Ghosts, stealthily making their way on foot to the three Banshees. They thought it was rather convenient that there would be three Banshees just parked here, but put it down to Covenant arrogance that they hadn't been launched and used against them. Taking the nuke off of the magnetic clamp on his back, Griffin carefully wedged it into the Banshee's cowling and climbed into the alien aircraft. As he, Daniel, and Kiki lifted off, he glanced back in time to see Hito and Zabon begin their last stand.

"We die, so that others may live," he whispered, careful of his comms.

"Okay, you two, listen up," Daniel said over the team channel. "Christian, Hito, and Zabon sacrificed themselves to get us to this point. We _will_ complete our mission, if for no other reason than to make sure their sacrifices weren't in vain. So let's boost these junk piles for all they're worth, and kill that flagship."

Kiki only activated her acknowledgment light; both Griffin and Daniel understood her reason for doing so. All three Banshees accelerated rapidly, until the battle occurring behind them had dwindled away.

Though each of them was fully qualified to operate any and all UNSC aircraft – KiKi had even been part of a top-secret program for an experimental fighter type – and could easily figure out how to operate the Covenant's Banshee aircraft, they could not decipher the Covenant language, even with ONI's latest translation software. So they knew that bluffing their way to the flagship was out of the question. What they did, instead, was climb up to the Banshee's maximum ceiling and stay at maximum speed. As they began nearing the flagship's AOE (area of operations) – which was easily discernible from the heavy activity of Covenant forces as well as the bulk of the destroyer itself – they sent their captured aircraft into moderate dives, using gravity to increase their speed. They managed to get beyond the outer perimeter and were closing in on the flagship when the Covenant below wised up to what was going on. Long-range Shade turrets and a couple of anti-air platforms began opening fire, filling the air with plasma bursts. The real danger, other than the heavy beams from the AA platforms, were the weapons of the destroyer itself.

"Incoming," Daniel said, sounding bored. Inside, though, he felt a slight tremor of unease. Three Spartans in a trio of captured Banshees versus who knows how many Covenant, heavy defensive emplacements, _and_ the available firepower of a 'grounded' Covenant ship. Even for Shadow Team – or was left of it, anyway – those were tall odds. So, naturally, he'd come up with a daring plan that would have an ODST stop and think.

"Dive now!" he ordered, and all three of them put their Banshees into a ninety-degree dive straight at the ground. At almost the last minuted, they pulled up until they skimming just above the ground, the down-canted wingtips of their wings slashing through the bushes. Then they opened fire with the Banshees' plasma cannons, the blue-white bursts of plasma searing through Grunts, Jackals, and Elites with equal ease.

"Hunters," Kiki called out. There were six of them in the flight path of the three alien flyers. She toggled her fuel rod gun and triggered it. The glowing green orb lanced ahead of the low-flying Banshee before arcing towards the ground. It impacted between the middle pair of Hunters, blowing one in half and sending the other one rolling along the ground minus an arm and leg.

"Kiki!" Griffin called out. Glancing over, she saw him crouching in his Banshee's cockpit, the Hailstorm in hand.

"Griffin, what are you doing?" she called back.

"Giving you a chance," he replied, lobbing her the bomb as hard as he could. She rolled her Banshee in his direction, cranked open her own canopy, and managed to snag one of the bomb's carrying straps. Pulling it into the cockpit with her, she looked over in time to see his Banshee take a direct hit from one of the Covenant AA guns. There was no final transmission, no last word from Griffin. One moment he was there, the next he and his stolen Banshee had been turned into flaming debris.

"The shield over their hanger bay is down," Daniel said. "Let's go." Flashing an acknowledgment light, she followed Shadow Team's leader into the Covenant destroyer.

They had jumped out of the Banshees as soon as they'd crossed into the hanger bay, and the two fast-moving aircraft slammed into a Spirit drop ship that was readying to leave. The resulting explosion not only destroyed all three ships but also most of the Covenant in the hanger. A couple of bursts from Daniel's assault rifle and a few shots from Kiki's magnums corrected that error.

"According to ONI's data," Daniel said, examining a file on his EOD helmet's HUD, "the power core should be deeper within the vessel, heading towards our right." As he led the way, Kiki dropped her sniper rifle and picked up a 'discarded' plasma repeater; in the tight confines of the destroyer's interior, the long-range hitting power of the sniper rifle was pretty much useless. Knowing what it had already cost to get this far, the Hailstorm nuke on her back seemed much heavier than it actually was. Covenant soldiers attempted to stop the advance of the two Spartan-IIIs, but they had only one speed and that was fast. Daniel discarded his assault rifle, out off ammunition for it, and switched to his two SMGs while Kiki abandoned her captured plasma repeater and went back to her magnums. They actually managed to reach the reactor room, which was guarded by a pair of Hunters backed up by a pair of Grunts manning two plasma turrets. Though the four frag grenades they'd primed and rolled between the four aliens would've been devastating enough on their own, it was actually the pair of C-16 foaming explosive canisters that were rolled in with them that was truly devastating; the two Spartans strolled through the gore-drenched area where the four aliens had once stood.

"Alright, let's set the nuke," Daniel said. Kiki nodded and knelt down, pulling the Hailstorm off her back as she did so.

"Shit," she said, looking with dismay at the nuke. Daniel echoed her sentiment when he, too, knelt down and got closer to the bomb. Apparently, a near-miss from a plasma round had ruined the bomb's timer mechanism and the antenna for remote detonation.

"The only way to set it off now is manually," he said.

"Well, we all knew this was to be a one-way trip," she replied.

"Not for all of us," he told her.

"Uh-uh, no way," she denied vehemently. "I am _not_ leaving you behind!"

"You don't have a choice, Kiki. I'm _ordering_ you to leave. I know you're more of a lone wolf than a team player, but just this once I need you to obey my order."

"Dammit, Daniel," she said, her shoulders slumping. "Why do I have to leave?"

"Because you have to keep the fight going. This isn't going to be the last world the Covenant attack. I need you to live so at least someone can remember the sacrifices made here today."

"Alright," she whispered quietly. He didn't need to see behind the silver one-way faceplate of her recon-variant helmet to know that her expression was sad and forlorn. He understood her exactly; it wasn't easy to leave brothers and sisters behind.

"I'll give you five minutes," he said, patting the bomb. "That's about as long as I'll be able to hold off the Covenant counter-assault."

"Give 'em hell, sir," Kiki told him, saluting. Then she turned and sprinted out of the reactor room, heading back towards the hanger.

After hijacking another Banshee and tearing out of the area as fast as the alien flyer could move, Kiki set the battered aircraft down just outside the safe zone of the bomb's blast radius. Climbing out of the Banshee, she turned around just in time to see the start of the bomb's explosion rippling through the hull. Throwing herself behind some rocks, she managed to escape the EMP (electromagnetic pulse) of the nuke's detonation, but the shockwave of the blast threw her tumbling through the air. She lost consciousness somewhere between the third and fourth bounce off of something, and the last thought on her mind was that the UNSC had better make the most of her team's sacrifice.

Three days later, a squad of ODSTs dropped into the area via orbital-delivered drop pods. Local command had directed them to investigate the reason behind the Covenant's current disarray as well as the source of the massive EMP and radiation burst sensors had detected three days earlier. A reconnaissance of the area turned up the burned-out hulk of a Covenant destroyer, the corpses of countless Covenant infantry . . . and no traces of a perpetrator.

No traces, that is, until they extended their reconnaissance the areas surrounding what was obviously a battlefield. Outside the blast radius, they found the shattered hulk of a Banshee flyer – with a UNSC-issue magnum pistol inside it. A careful search turned up the battered armor of a Spartan – roughly a kilometer away from the Banshee. The squad's leader had just touched the scorched armor when it jerked in his hand and he found himself in a headlock. Just as quickly, though, he was released. Coughing, he turned around and stood up, holding out a hand for the Spartan.

"Sergeant Roger Burns," he said, waiting until the Spartan had stood up before rubbing his throat.

"Lieutenant Spartan-439," she replied.

"What happened here, ma'am?" he asked.

"A Spartan op, Sergeant," she told him, gazing back towards the still-smoking space where a Covenant destroyer once sat. "Just the final run of a Spartan op."

A Pelican drop ship picked up the ODST squad and the Spartan, taking them back to the base that, incidentally, Shadow Team had deployed from on their final mission. Major Xavier Lorenhall was on-hand to greet Kiki as she disembarked, claiming he needed that her debriefing was 'classified.'

"Well, your mission was a success," he said in a low voice, knowing that she could easily here him. "The Covenant flagship is destroyed, and we've managed to make great gains in taking back the planet."

"Perhaps it was a success in that respect, sir," she replied.

"The cost was high," he agreed, his tone respectful, "but their sacrifice will allow us to evacuate more civilians just in case we can't kick the Covenant off of this world."

"The sacrifice of a single Spartan isn't a cost to pay lightly," she told him.

"You have a point, Lieutenant. Come on, let's get you fully debriefed and refitted."

"Why the fast turn around, Major?"

"New orders just came in for you, from High Command. You're being redeployed."

"Where to?"

"You're being assigned to Noble Team, on Reach in the Epsilon Eridani system."


End file.
